A Head Hunter 'Head of Heart' sent to applicants who want to become engineers at Google

About the author : The article was shared by Keawe Block - recruitment specialist at Google.

The job of "hunting" talented engineers is no longer the same as before and, to a certain extent, it has been predetermined. At Google, we are proactive in expanding the number of schools that need to be approached to find talent for our company, only 75 schools a year ago and today, this number has reached 305.

As a top company in the field of computer science, besides technology, Google has always paid deep attention to students who specialize in English or philosophy . We don't really care how much your GPA is (even if you have achieved 4.0) or how good you play sports. All of that is not really important.

Here are 4 things we look for in candidates for this position in 2016 and why.

1. Do not lower yourself and be ready to compete

Recent experience has given us a lesson that we can look for technological talents in more places than before. Because excellent students are not only in top-ranked universities. They are also located in other universities and colleges. In addition, at the age of 18, even current computer scientists claim that at that time they were unable to recognize their Coding aptitude until determining the major they wanted to pursue.

Tell us about your experiences at hackathon, "coding" competitions or programming exercises that you have achieved well.

Google is always trying to challenge individual, stubborn students on questions like how computer science can be described or "what do you do in your free time?". For example, the "Google in Residence" program will mark Google engineers at the famous black universities and colleges to teach computer science and train students on how to their target orientation if choosing a technical major. This method is also applicable to South American students.

Google strives to develop programs, resources, tools and links with other community partners and organizations to help more students access computer science during their study at school. . Our goal in the future is to minimize discrimination in terms of race, geography and skin color among students so that everyone gets what they deserve.

At the same time, do not assume that you lack the capacity based on your background, educational background or job opportunities. Let yourself think of yourself as a motivation to help you show your ability in the interview. It is not easy to gain a foothold in a competitive technology field, but it will be simpler if you are willing to "compete" with other competitors.

2. Show us what you can do, no matter where you learn at school or where

Of course, engineers need to know the code. But we are interested in hiring real people, not machines. So, in your resume, instead of listing GPA (which we no longer use to filter records), please mention your experience in good coding, coding competitions. programming exercises that you have achieved excellent results. If there is no certificate or degree then that doesn't matter.

Showing what you can do not only helps us see a clear "portrait" of your abilities, but is also a great way to prove your technological talents even when you specialize. Your industry is sociology or whatever.

3. Be comfortable with code exercises

Again, engineers need to know the code. So, a thorough preparation for code exercises - a very important part of every Google engineer interview - is a must. Candidates will be asked to answer 3 code-related questions without any assistance within 45 minutes.

I also suggest that you practice writing with another person, regardless of whether they are engineers or not and use whiteboards or paper. In addition, specifically focus on algorithms and data structures . You can refer to some very interesting samples like Cracking the Coding Interview, Topcoder or LeetCode.

4. Don't put pressure on yourself

Be wary of " impostor syndrome" - which happens when you are sure that other coder will be smarter, more talented and more skilled than you. You live in the fear that someone will discover you are deceiving about your intelligence or abilities.

Some engineers who have just started working at Google have experienced this feeling when they first entered the training camp and occasionally feel the "impostor" while on duty. Although this is purely a normal reaction, it is also a kind of counterproductive thinking when they are trying to gain a foothold in technology.

"This syndrome will overwhelm candidates and cause them to fail in the interview."

The advice for you here is to try relaxation techniques before each interview. Say what you think when doing the code. This not only helps you focus on what you're doing and calms down the pressure but also helps the interviewer understand what you're thinking.